1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus which outputs status information representing the status of a device, a system, and a method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the computer technology and network communication technology have made significant progress. For these technologies, a peripheral apparatus control system is effectively used in various scenes such as home and an office, in which a peripheral apparatus is connected to an information processing apparatus by using various interfaces such as a USB, Ethernet®, and wireless LAN. Examples of the peripheral apparatus are a printer, copying machine, facsimile apparatus, scanner, digital camera, and a multi-function peripheral of them.
There is a demand to acquire status information of a peripheral apparatus by an information processing terminal via an information processing server connected by a network.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-75754 discloses a method of acquiring status information of a printer by a server in a system in which the printer and server are connected. In this system, when the printer is printing, the server acquires status information cached in the server, and when the printer is not printing, directly inquires the status of the printer.
However, in the conventional technique, immediately after printing in the printer is completed, even if status information has not been updated after being acquired by the server, the server inquires the status of the printer. Then, the server acquires the same status information as one already stored in it. This communication is wasteful, resulting in poor efficiency.